Improving your personal productivity: Taking care of yourself

Today's daily dose: Improving your personal productivity: Taking care of yourself
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You may feel that your life is at the beck and call of everyone else, or you may feel like you have no idea what you have been put on this earth to do. Taking care of yourself is so very important, after all who else is going to do it? Now am I saying we should be self-centric to the detriment of all others? Absolutely not. But you do need to take care of yourself and especially at particularly stressful times such as in the lead up to exams and of course Christmas and other feast days.

What do I mean?

Well consider taking a minor detour on the way home and take a 20 - 30 minute walk. De-stress after a working day and before the evening activities begin. I find that if I do go straight home without a break between the office and my home I am far more stressed than if I have de-stressed on the way.

Work out what your major goals are for the next 12 months (this does not have to be done on January 1st) - then make a mental note of whether your evening activities are going to be helping you to achieve those items or not, and make some adjustments in your weekly game plan and your daily to do lists. Many times we can be guilty of being overwhelmed by our day to day activities we forget about the long term plans we should be making.

Plan your meals in advance. Have the ingredients for a couple of meals in the freezer / cupboard as stand bys just in case. Believe me when I say fast food is not particularly fast, nor is it as nutritious as home cooked meals tend to be. If your little people don't like veggies, consider hiding them in sauces and gravies etc. Broccoli, zuccini and cauliflower are easily smushed up and hidden for those people who don't like "alien veggies". By the time you've eaten the recommended serves of fruit and veg each day there is little room for sugary laden afters. And your waist line will thank you for it.

And don't cut out the fat entirely. Believe it or not your body needs some fats to maintain a healthy glow and glossy hair and perfect nails. But please try and avoid the trans fats (usually found in the cakes, pies, biscuits, chips, crisps and pastries we all enjoy) - a handful of nuts or some avocado are perfect examples of good fats to use.

Drink more water than you do booze. We all know the stats but it's a good habit to get into. And if you can drink it, a cup of green tea helps to keep things moving.

Take some time each day to reconnect with your personal belief system. Don't neglect the spiritual side of you, it's as important as everything else that helps to make you - YOU.

And try and get some decent sleep at least a couple of times a week. There are proven health benefits to sleep. Now with young children it may seem like you are unable to sleep through the night, so if you are at home with very small children, nap when they do, especially in the beginning. Don't feel like you have to throw in some laundry or clean the kitchen. And if the littlies are a little older then why not get them to help sort laundry into colours or get them to do their homework in the kitchen whilst you cook dinner.

None of this is rocket science, nor is it hard to do, and that's why we neglect to do it most of the time. So get into some better habits and enjoy the benefits.

With many thoughts

Elle